Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

"Li Xiangsi and her group of sixteen have come stealthily and will surely seek a place to hide. Carefully search all the inns, pleasure boats, guesthouses, restaurants, and other places of lodging in the city. Do not miss any place where you can stay. Thoroughly investigate any medicine merchant named Li Xiangsi."

"In addition, investigate the restaurants in the city to see who orders more than ten takeout meals every day. Also, gather all the people who make a living by running errands together and find out who asks them to deliver meals to more than ten people every day."

"Check the post stations, carriage shops, shipyards, and airships for anything suspicious. Since Li Xiangsi and her gang of thieves infiltrated the Sword Tower to cause trouble, they will most likely leave a way out, whether they succeed or fail. Investigate them; we might find something."

Ye Tingxiu was completely relying on luck, and his actions were completely haphazard. This method of investigation was not entirely useless, but it was time-consuming and laborious. Casting a wide net does not guarantee catching any fish. But as the saying goes, it doesn't matter if you're not good at your job. You can learn by doing. No one is born knowing everything.

Ye Tingxiu said, "Iron ruler, flying sword, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu."

Upon hearing this, the four subordinates of the Demon Suppression Division immediately stood up and clasped their hands in greeting: "Lord Ye, your humble servants are here."

Ye Tingxiu: "Each of you take on your tasks and carry them out. Investigate the four aspects of clothing, food, housing, and transportation for me. If you have any leads, report to me immediately. If you are short-handed, go back and transfer more people. If you encounter any difficulties, find a way to overcome them. If you do this job well, I will reward you handsomely!"

Iron Ruler, Flying Sword, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu exchanged glances and clasped their fists in unison: "We will obey Lord Ye's orders."

The Demon Suppression Division is a military faction within the Censorate system. They are required to frequently go out to patrol their fiefdoms and suppress demons, resulting in extremely high casualties.

The ranks of officials within the department, from highest to lowest, are as follows: one head of the Demon Suppression Department, two judicial officials, four demon-suppressing commanders, and an unlimited number of protectors, secret arts advisors, inspectors, and demon-suppressing guards. From top to bottom, every member of the department must participate in at least one field mission each year.

It's practically impossible to coast along and slack off in the Demon Suppression Division. There's also no issue of excessive personnel and costs, because every time they go out on missions, many low- to mid-level officials die while patrolling their fiefdoms and suppressing demons, so limiting the number of official positions is meaningless.

As long as you meet the admission criteria, you can enter the Demon Suppression Division. This place doesn't require connections; you just need to be willing to risk your life and not be afraid of death.

Iron Ruler, Flying Sword, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu are all subordinates who have followed Ye Tingxiu for many years. They hold the official position of Inspector and are ranked in the Food Demon Realm.

In terms of official rank, both Xiao and Ye held the position of Protector of the People, a high-ranking and powerful position. They were highly valued in the Demon Suppression Division and often represented the First City Lord to inspect the local area. They were rewarded for their work and achievements, and were prominent in public. They never lacked cultivation resources, food, clothing, housing, or any other aspect of life.

Now, Ye Tingxiu and Xiao Hongyun have been appointed as Zhou Qingfeng's left and right deputies, which is equivalent to being granted the highest authority. Both of them can act according to the circumstances and act on Zhou Qingfeng's behalf as the "Supervisor of Public Security". They have a lot of power, and even the heads of various departments have to cooperate with them.

It can be said that when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!

Moreover, Ye Tingxiu is not just a nobody; he is a swordsmanship genius with background, power, and connections. He has the backing of the big shot Ye Xiao, who is the First City Lord's confidant and the head instructor of the Plum Blossom Secret Service. Although he is not well-known and keeps a low profile, it doesn't mean he isn't powerful.

Even Zhou Qingfeng would have to bow respectfully to Night Owl and address him as Senior Night Owl, let alone others.

"Lord Ye, what about me? Could you give me some work to do too?" the last subordinate asked.

Ye Tingxiu grabbed the teacup, making a move as if to smash it.

"Hey, hey, Lord Ye, I, Sheng Tuo, am utterly loyal to you. Ever since you joined the Demon Suppression Division, I, Sheng Tuo, have followed you through thick and thin, and I've been with you the longest. You can't favor one over the other; you must think of me when you have the chance."

Upon hearing this, Ye Tingxiu casually tossed the teacup onto the table, took out six coins, placed them on the table, greeted the tea stall owner, and then beckoned to Sheng Tuo. Upon seeing this, Sheng Tuo scurried closer to Ye Tingxiu, bowing and scraping like a lackey.

Ye Tingxiu hooked his arm around Sheng Tuo's shoulder and said, "Do you know why I kept you by my side the only one?"

Sheng Tuo: "This humble servant is unaware."

Ye Tingxiu said, "If you leave, who will I be able to order around?"

Sheng Tuo: "Lord Ye, should I feel honored?"

Ye Tingxiu: "What do you think?"

Sheng Tuo quickly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble servant is willing to serve Lord Ye with utmost loyalty."

Ye Tingxiu kicked Sheng Tuo in the butt: "Then why don't you hurry back to the Demon Suppression Division and send me two teams of people? I'm completely out of manpower, can't you see? Hurry up, I'm telling you, don't force me to take a knife and chop you up. I need to see people within an incense stick's time!"

"Ye Zi, please get to the point," Zhou Qingfeng interrupted, and the scene shifted back to the main hall of the Plum Blossom Division of the Censorate.

Upon hearing this, Ye Tingxiu made two "oh" sounds, organized his thoughts, and then continued, "I had Tie Chi, Fei Jian, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu investigate from the four aspects of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, while I led Sheng Tuo and the others to sweep the streets and investigate the identities of passersby."

"After investigating for two or three days, I unexpectedly discovered a clue. Sure enough, just as I expected, Li Xiangsi and her gang were hiding in a private house in Pomo Lane. Most of them never left the house and relied on deliverymen to deliver food. I followed the clues and found the thieves' hiding place."

"I wanted to lead my men in and kill all these thieves!"

"But Xiao Xiao also came with her men."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyun gently shook his folding fan and said with a smile, "Ye Zi, if you don't mind, I'll speak next."

Ye Tingxiu shrugged: "Whatever you want."

Xiao Hongyun said, "I am different from Ye Zi. Ye Zi found the hiding place of Li Xiangsi and her gang by looking at their food, clothing, shelter and transportation. I, on the other hand, led people directly to the construction site of the Millennium Dragon Banquet. Because you, Lao Zhou, gave a strict order that the Changping Division should work day and night to complete the task within thirty days. If there are not enough people, they can only recruit workers from the people. I think Li Xiangsi and her gang will definitely not give up this opportunity if they want to cause trouble."

"So I led a team to check the workers' roster and look for suspicious individuals like Li Xiangsi..."

Time rewinds once again to the site where the Dragon Ascension Banquet was built a thousand years ago. Ten thousand cultivators toiled here, those with skills provided their skills, and those without skills contributed their labor. The price was a uniform one hundred magic coins. They worked six hours a day, in two shifts. They were paid on the same day they finished their work. They could work if they wanted, or not if they didn't.

They really don't treat people like human beings. A civil engineering cultivator at the Food Fiend Realm can only earn 100 magic coins a day by working himself to the bone, and even this lousy job is fiercely contested. Meanwhile, powerful and wealthy merchants can easily earn tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of magic coins for a simple banquet.

Money is hard to earn, and life is tough. This is just how the world is. People who earn money legally, honestly, and diligently will never become rich. At most, they might get lucky and make a small fortune by chance, enough to make a living. But to become truly wealthy is completely impossible.

The idea that ordinary people can make a lot of money just by being talented is a fairy tale.

The world is vast, and there are countless talented people. Jobs that pay well, have little work, and are close to home will never be available to ordinary people. Even if a job pays little, has a lot of work, and is far from home, ordinary people will still fight tooth and nail for it, fawning and begging for handouts like dogs, just to make a living.

In a game set by the powerful and wealthy, it's pure fantasy for ordinary people to try and get any benefits from them.

Everything was meticulously planned.